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One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato
(429-347 BC)
Friday, February 17, 2017
Sen. Cotton Officially Introduces Raise Act
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton
ARRA News Service: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has officially introduced the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act, S. 354, in the Senate. The bill would reduce legal immigration by up to 50% by ending future chain migration and the diversity visa lottery.
Roy Beck, President and Founder of NumbersUSA responded saying, "the RAISE Act has a number -- S. 354 -- and one that we will do all possible to ensure that lives on through history as one of the great achievements of this period of our country."
The RAISE Act would:
End the Visa Lottery
Limit annual refugee admissions to 50,000
End chain migration
Reduce the worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants from 480,000 to 88,000 by prioritizing nuclear family
Add a nonimmigrant visa for parents of adult U.S. citizens (W-Visa)
5-year renewable visa
No work authorization or ability to receive public benefits
The RAISE Act would reduce legal immigration to the United States by 50% in an effort to diminish its impact on vulnerable American workers. First, it eliminates the visa lottery and limits refugee admissions to 50,000 per year, removing the ability of the President to unilaterally adjust upward refugee admissions. Further, it eliminates chain migration by limiting family-sponsored immigration to the spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.
While U.S. citizens maintain the ability to sponsor nuclear family members without numerical limitation, the worldwide level of family-sponsored immigration is reduced from 480,000 to 88,000 to account for the elimination of the extended-family categories. Finally, a new nonimmigrant visa category is created for parents of adult U.S. citizens. Under this new category, sponsored alien parents would receive a renewable 5-year visa, but must be financially independent or supported financially by the adult son or daughter, as the visa does not authorize the alien to work or receive any form of public benefit.
Tags:U.S., Senator, Tom Cotton, R-AR, Raise Act, S. 354, visa lottery reduce legal immigration, ends Visa Lobby, caps refugee admissions, chain migrationTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Baby, The Rain Must Fall, The Wind Must Blow. And Congress Must Spend!
by Tom Balek, Contributing Author: A conservative friend posted a clever and shrewd tweet today. Democrats (and some Republicans) on the Senate Finance Committee are holding up confirmation of US trade representative Robert Lighthizer, demanding a bailout of union miners’ pension funds in exchange for their votes. What’s new? This kind of arm-twisting politics is standard operating procedure in Congress. But my friend’s exasperated reaction to the benevolent-sounding Miners Protection Act points out a fact that never seems to occur to anybody inside the Beltway: “Taxpayers are not ATMs! It’s not your money to give away!”
I realized a while back that most legislators (and presidents for that matter) don’t worry about taxpayer disapproval when they pass a spending bill. Here’s why:
Most voters don’t pay federal income tax, or pay very little. They don’t feel personally impacted by government spending, because they think the money is extracted from somebody else – the “rich guys”. Members of Congress (especially Democrats who rely on low-income or no-income voters to keep them in office) are heroes to their constituents when they spend more money. In fact, incumbent legislators are almost always re-elected because they can brag about “bringing home the bacon” to their home districts.
Americans don’t worry about spending more money because there doesn’t seem to be any down-side. Unlike families or businesses, the government never runs out of money, regardless of tax revenue or spending levels. Our leaders have learned that they can print and/or borrow money without limit, because nobody has the courage to shut down the government and send employees home. Yes, we have a $20 trillion debt. Yes, interest on savings has been non-existent for many years. Yes, wages have been stagnant for decades as the government crowds out private enterprise, gobbling an ever-growing bite of the GDP pie. Yes, if continued it will all come crumbling down on the heads of our children and grandchildren. But the average Joe still doesn’t relate government spending to his own financial well-being. In fact, most people think more government spending helps them.
And when you get right down to it, our congressmen are only doing what they were born to do. The job description of a legislator can be boiled down to four words. What do you do for a living? Spend other people’s money. The rain falls. The wind blows. Congressmen spend. It is existential. In the eyes of a government official, the solution to every problem is to spend more money. If he isn’t spending money, he is a “do nothing” congressman.
Fortunately, the election showed that there are still (barely) enough Americans with a grasp on reality to step on the brakes before our nation careens off the financial cliff, taking the civilized world along for the plunge. Our voices were finally heard. But the narrow victory last November was just the beginning. Too many of our leaders either still don’t get it, or will soon forget that they got it. We may have stopped at the edge of the cliff. But the cliff is still there.
We can’t eliminate all government spending, and in some strategic areas we will have to invest more than we have in recent years. But it’s childish and dangerous to think that all of our current expenditures are still necessary and untouchable, and our only option is to spend more.
---------------------------- Tom Balek is a fellow conservative activist, blogger, musician and contributes to the ARRA News Service. Tom resides in South Carolina and seeks to educate those too busy with their work and families to notice how close to the precipice our economy has come. He blogs at Rockin' On the Right Side
Glenn Yarbrough – Baby The Rain Must Fall Some men climb a mountain,
Some men swim the sea,
Some men fly above the sky:
They are what they must be.
But, baby the rain must fall,
Baby, the wind must blow,
Wherever my heart leads me
Baby, I must go. Baby I must go.
Tags:Tom Balek, Rockin' On The Right Side, Baby, The Rain Must Fall, The Wind Must Blow. And Congress Must Spend!To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Trump's Prediction, More Fake News, Progress Report, Poll Position
Gary Bauer
by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Trump's Prediction - During yesterday's White House press conference, President Trump berated the media for its dishonesty and hateful tone. He spoke for nearly 80 minutes and covered a wide range of topics. He also predicted that the media would grossly distort the press conference.
The president said, "Tomorrow they will say 'Donald Trump rants and raves.' I'm not ranting and raving."
Well, guess what? He was right! And the reaction was immediate.
Shepard Smith of Fox News said, "It is crazy what we are watching every day, it is absolutely crazy." CNN's Jake Tapper called the press conference "wild" and "unhinged." NBC's Chuck Todd whined that Trump's press bashing is "un-American."
That's odd. I don't remember this kind of media outrage when Obama repeatedly attacked Fox News or bugged reporters' phones.
CBS News ran an "exaggeration check" during last night's broadcast. So now we've gone from fact checks to exaggeration checks. I suppose that could be helpful. We wouldn't want a president to claim that he was going to stop the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. . . Oh, wait! That's what Obama did. Still waiting for the CBS "exaggeration check" on that one.
Nevertheless, a few commentators did admit that yesterday's press conference played very well in Trump's America, and, let's face it, that's pretty much everywhere between New York City and Los Angeles!
Tomorrow, President Trump is going to hold a rally in Melbourne, Florida. The press would love nothing more than to say that the crowd was noticeably smaller than during the campaign. To our friends in Florida: The president needs a big turnout. If you can make it, please go! But you must register online.
More Fake News - Did you hear about the latest "victim" of the Trump immigration raids? That individual checked all the left-wing boxes -- minority, undocumented, abuse victim, even transgendered. Needless to say, the case made headlines everywhere. Here's one example, "ICE Arrests Domestic Violence Victim at Texas Courthouse."
Terribly cruel of the Trump Administration, right? That's certainly what the left and its media allies want you to believe.
But the headline is grossly misleading. Buried deep in the reports, if it was mentioned at all, is the fact that this "victim" has a lengthy criminal record for "assault, probation violation, domestic violence, false imprisonment of a minor." Oh, and he/she has already been deported six times!
Is this the face of left-wing progressivism now? Forget the coal miner. Forget our veterans. Forget struggling middle class families. Forget black children trapped in gang-infested, failing schools. The left will fight to the death for transgendered illegal immigrant criminals!
Progress Report - Late yesterday afternoon, the House of Representatives approved a resolution reversing a radical pro-abortion regulation by the Obama Administration. Drafted during his final days in office, Barack Obama issued a regulation that effectively forced states to provide funds to Planned Parenthood.
After more than a dozen states took steps to cut off taxpayer funding to the nation's largest abortion business, the Obama White House stepped in and stepped on the separation of powers between the states and the federal government.
I am pleased to report that the GOP-led House did not hesitate to use its authority under the Congressional Review Act to repeal Obama's outrageous pro-abortion mandate. The resolution, authored by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), must now be approved by the Senate. Thankfully, it is not subject to a filibuster.
Speaking of the Congressional Review Act, President Trump yesterday signed a law repealing another Obama regulation that devastated the coal industry. Joining the president at the signing ceremony were senators from various coal states, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), along with coal workers and company executives.
What many liberals do not appreciate is just how crucial the coal industry is. Not only does coal provide a leading source of electricity for the country, but in some areas it is the leading, perhaps only, industry as well. When coal jobs in those areas are lost, everything else suffers too.
By the way, it was reported today that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has begun "cleaning house" at the State Department. Several staffers on the building's top floor -- where senior-level managers work -- were fired yesterday.
Poll Position - Here are some recent poll results you may have missed. For all the media's hyperbolic criticism, President Trump is holding his own.
55% of likely voters approve of President Trump's job performance.
54% of likely voters believe that policies which allow an increasing number of immigrants and refugees from predominantly Muslim nations, some of which are failed states, represent an increased risk to the national security of the United States. Just 33% of voters disagree. In other words, President Trump's much-derided executive order, which left-wing judges blocked, is a 21-point winning issue for the president.
Are you ready for 2020? Well, the left just can't wait. And it is already conducting polls pitting its favorite candidate -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) -- against President Trump.
Warren is the obvious choice -- the perfect combination of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. With Warren you get both socialist policies and gender identity politics! But the left might have to reconsider. According to a poll released Wednesday, Trump would defeat Warren 42%-to-36%.
---------------- Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families Tags:Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, President Trump's Prediction, More Fake News, Progress Report, Poll PositionTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Indiana Grandfather Killed by Drunk, Illegal Alien Without Driver’s License
by Todd Starnes: By all accounts David Kriehn, of Noblesville, Indiana was a good person. He was a gentle and caring man.
“A good person,” Harry Straut told television station WTHR. “They guy you liked to hang out with as well as work with.”
Mr. Kriehn was a former missionary – who managed Famous Dave’s, a popular barbecue joint near Indianapolis.
“Dave was an inspirational leader,” Straut told the television station.”
He was the kind of leader who put others ahead of himself – a great American.
He was killed by an illegal alien.
State police believe Elizabeth Vargas-Hernandez was traveling at a high rate of speed when her SUV rammed into Kriehn's car. Investigators say Hernandez smelled of alcohol and failed a field sobriety test.
They suspect the 35-year-old and her three passengers had just left a bar.
The state police investigation also uncovered evidence that the woman entered the country illegally and has never held a driver's license. Full Story below:
------------------ Todd Starnes (@toddstarnes) is A Christian Conservative, the host of Fox News & Commentary and heard daily on 250+ radio stations and on his iTune podcasts. Tags:Todd Starnes, illegal alien, drunk, driving, kills, Indiana Grandfather, David KriehnTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Phil Kerpen, Contributing Author: Today in a bipartisan 52 to 46 vote, the Senate confirmed Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the EPA! Democrat Senators Joe Manchin (W.V) and Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) vote for Pruitt while Republican Susan Collins of Maine voted against him.
This is HUGE news — no longer will we have an administration that puts radical environmentalists ahead of American families.
While Obama rammed through policies intentionally designed to make your electric bill “necessarily skyrocket,” Scott Pruitt’s EPA will be focused on pragmatic environmental protection, while growing American jobs and wages.
Environmental groups worked relentlessly to derail his confirmation, but American Commitment members like you were ready on a moment’s notice and sent thousands of letters to the Senate in support of Scott Pruitt.
And just as with the recent confirmation of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, our efforts made a huge difference in winning another key confirmation battle!
Pruitt’s confirmation means that the EPA will finally get the cleanup it desperately needs and your action truly made a difference.
------------------ Phil Kerpen is president of American Commitment. Follow him at (@kerpen) and on Facebook. He is a contributing author at the ARRA News Service. Dr. Bill Smith, Editor, Update 4:30 PM CST: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito administered the oath of office to Scott Pruitt, Video follow:
------------------ Phil Kerpen is president of American Commitment. Follow him at (@kerpen) and on Facebook. He is a contributing author at the ARRA News Service. Tags:Phil Kerpen, American Commitment, Scott Pruitt, confirmed, EPA, Administrator To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Nick Cunningham: Oil prices have traded reliably in the $50s per barrel since OPEC agreed to cut production last November, but having failed to break through a ceiling in the upper-$50s, crude prices are in danger of falling back again.
The oil market had wind in its sails on expectations of substantial drawdowns in inventories following the pending cut of a combined 1.8 million barrels per day (1.2 mb/d from OPEC plus nearly 0.6 mb/d from non-OPEC countries). Indeed, the IEA reports that oil inventories in OECD countries have declined for five consecutive months, although they still stand above the running five-year average. Meanwhile, in the U.S. oil inventories have actually increased significantly so far in 2017.
The shockingly high compliance rate that OPEC has thus far achieved this year, one would think, should have pushed oil prices up much higher. But crude prices have barely budged since several key market watchers, including S&P Global Platts, the IEA and OPEC, put out similar numbers that show OPEC countries have achieved a roughly 80 to 90 percent compliance rate, much higher than analysts thought would be possible from the contentious group. If OPEC took 1 mb/d off the market in January, why are prices struggling to move from the low- to mid-$50s?
Of course, rising U.S. production is part of the story. The latest weekly EIA data puts U.S. output at 8.978 mb/d, a touch below 9 mb/d, which is up more than 400,000 bpd from a few months ago. In addition, the EIA’s Drilling Productivity Report estimates that production from the major shale basins will rise in March by nearly 80,000 bpd, the largest increase in five months. Nearly all of that increase is expected to come from the Permian Basin.
But on top of rising U.S. output, OPEC’s cuts are less impressive than they might seem. Output from Libya is up more than 100,000 bpd from November and up nearly 0.5 mb/d from its lowest point last year, with more gains to come. Nigeria also threatens to sabotage the OPEC deal if it restores around 0.5 mb/d of disrupted supply.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia ramped up output just ahead of the deal, blunting the impact of its cuts – it cut from a historically high levels. Also, Iran was allowed to increase production slightly, and Iraq, the other major producer in OPEC, is falling short of its pledged cuts. As for non-OPEC countries, Russia has only lowered output by 100,000 bpd compared to its promise of a 300,000 bpd reduction. At any rate, Russia cut from post-Soviet record highs as well.
In short, OPEC has indeed achieved a very high level of compliance, but the underlying math is not all it seems to be. OPEC succeeded in sparking a highly bullish mood in the oil market, but oil traders and investors are starting to catch on to the fact that there are still supply overhang problems in the market.
That creates a downside risk to prices in the very near future. Hedge funds and money managers have amassed the most bullish combined position in years, with everyone going long on oil, betting that $60 was around the corner. With prices now being met with resistance, the danger is that more traders start to bail out of those long bets, sparking a sudden correction in prices on the downside. "There’s starting to be fatigue about the range we’ve been trading in," John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, said in a Bloomberg interview. "It won’t be summer until we break out to the upside."
Looking forward, everyone will watch how the same dynamics will continue to play out – bulls will watch for steady OPEC compliance and inventory declines while pessimists will keep an eye out for rising U.S. output and questionable demand from China and India. The market continues its slow and painful adjustment process, which should see more price gains at some point in the future, but the short-term looks more shaky.
“There’s a lot of complacency out there. If these bets start to unwind, it will be a bloodbath,” Doug King, chief investment officer at RCMA Asset Management, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.
----------------- Nick Cunningham authored this article contributed by James Stafford the editor of OilPrice.com, the leading online energy news site, to the ARRA News Service. Tags:Bloodbath, Looms, Oil Markets, Nick Cunningham, James Stafford, Oilprice.comTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
The ‘Most Ambitious Regulatory Rollback Since Reagan’
Former President Upset Over 'Most Ambitious Rollback'
Republicans Are Moving Quickly To Dismantle Obama-Era Regulations’
SEN. MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “This Republican-led Congress is committed to fulfilling our promises to the American people. …On its way out the door, the Obama Administration forced nearly 40 major — and very costly — regulations on the American people. Fortunately, we now have the opportunity to work with the new president to begin bringing relief from these burdensome regulations.”(Sen. McConnell, Press Release, 2/2/17)
‘Bonfire Of The Obama Regs: The Congressional Review Act’
“Trump undertakes most ambitious regulatory rollback since Reagan: President Trump has embarked on the most aggressive campaign against government regulation in a generation, joining with Republican lawmakers to roll back rules already on the books and limit the ability of federal regulators to impose new ones. After just a few weeks in office, the new administration is targeting dozens of Obama-era policies… a slew of Obama-era rules in limbo.” (“Trump Undertakes Most Ambitious Regulatory Rollback Since Reagan,” The Washington Post, 2/12/17)
“Senators voted 54-45 Thursday to kill an Obama administration coal mining rule, giving President Trump his first chance to formally take off the books an environmental rule from the previous administration. The Congressional Review Act (CRA) challenge passed by the Senate undoes the Interior Department’s … regulation…” (“Senate Votes To Block Obama Coal Rule,” The Hill, 2/2/17)
President Obama’s ‘Punitive 11th-Hour Regulation On Coal,’ Would Have Put ‘Between 112,757 And 280,809’ Total Jobs At Risk
KENTUCKY COAL ASSOCIATION:“The undeniable truth is that … [this rule] will have a real impact on the real world. It will cause real harm to real people, who support real families in real communities. And those real families and communities desperately need Congress to intervene on their behalf to rebuke the actions of an out-of-control federal agency by passing a resolution to overturn the SPR and send it to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.” (Kentucky Coal Association, Letter To Sen. McConnell, 1/30/17)
UNITED MINE WORKERS: “…thank you for introducing a Joint Resolution to overturn the Stream Protection Rule (SPR) under the Congressional Review Act. The United Mine Workers of America wholeheartedly supports your legislation and will work to see that it is passed. … The last thing America’s coal-producing regions need at this time is another regulation that will have the effect of reducing employment even more and further stifling economic development.”(United Mine Workers Of America, Letter To Sen. McConnell, 1/30/17)
“The Obama Administration has … [issued] a punitive 11th-hour regulation on coal. Issued by the Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), the rule takes effect Jan. 19 as a classic example of the job-killing rules that Mr. Trump has vowed to overturn.”(Editorial, “Coal In Trump’s Stocking,” Wall Street Journal, 12/20/16)
STUDY: “Total number of jobs at risk of loss, including mining and linked sector employment is between 112,757 and 280,809 (30 to 75 percent of current employment levels).” (“Economic Impacts Of The Office Of Surface Mining’s Proposed Stream Protection Rule (SPR),” Ramboll Environ, 2016)
“Direct mining jobs at risk of loss are predicted to range from 40,038 to 77,520, with both surface and underground mining adversely affected.” (“Economic Impacts Of The Office Of Surface Mining’s Proposed Stream Protection Rule (SPR),” Ramboll Environ, 2016)
“CEO Robert Murray called the stream protection rule ‘the single greatest threat to the jobs and family livelihoods of our employees that I have seen in my 58 years of coal mining.’”(“Coal: Lawmakers Argue About Proposed Stream Rule's Job Loss Numbers,” Greenwire, 10/27/15)
14 STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL: “As chief legal officers or as environmental regulators for our States, we write to urge Congress to use its power under the Congressional Review Act to disapprove … 81 Fed. Reg. 93,066… which was issued by the Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (‘OSM’). The Rule is an unlawful attempt drastically to limit coal mining in vast areas of the country. … The Rule would have a disastrous effect on coal miners, their families, workers in related industries, and their communities.”(14 State Attorneys General, Letter To Sen. McConnell & Speaker Ryan, 1/17/17)
“…one of the Obama administration's most controversial pending rules. Seven tempestuous years after it started the process, the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement plans to finalize its stream protection rule this summer.” (“States Ramp Up Efforts To Undermine Obama's Stream Rule,” E&E News, 5/13/16)
‘Senate Nixes Obama-Era Gun Rule’ Which ‘Unnecessarily And Unreasonably Deprives Individuals With Disabilities Of A Constitutional Right’
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY):“The resolution will provide relief from an overly broad and legally deficient regulation that threatens the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans with disabilities. Specifically, in the waning days of the Obama Administration, the Social Security Administration issued a rule that the ACLU and disability groups across the country oppose because it unfairly treats many Americans with disabilities.” (Sen. McConnell, Floor Remarks, 2/15/17)
“Critics argue the rule stripped Second Amendment rights from people who are not dangerously mentally ill, such as those with eating or sleeping disorders or disabilities that prevent them from managing their own finances.”(“Senate Nixes Obama-Era Gun Rule,” The Hill, 2/15/17)
“NCD submitted comments to SSA on the proposed rule on June 30th, 2016. In our comments, we cautioned against implementation of the proposed rule because: [t]here is, simply put, no nexus between the inability to manage money and the ability to safely and responsibly own, possess or use a firearm. This arbitrary linkage not only unnecessarily and unreasonably deprives individuals with disabilities of a constitutional right, it increases the stigma for those who, due to their disabilities, may need a representative payee[.]” (National Council On Disability, Letter To Majority Leader McConnell & Speaker Ryan, 1/24/17)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY):“We all want to increase transparency, but we should not raise costs on American businesses only to benefit their international competition. Let’s send the SEC back to the drawing board to promote transparency without the high costs or negative impacts on American businesses.” (Sen. McConnell, Press Release, 2/2/17)
“Senate sends SEC disclosure rule to the dust bin:The Senate Friday gave its thumbs up to a resolution to nullify a SEC rule…It was the second time this week lawmakers sent President Donald Trump a Congressional Review Act resolutionundoing an Obama administration regulation. He is expected to sign it.” (“Senate Sends SEC Disclosure Rule To The Dust Bin,” Politico, 2/3/17)
“…the votes were first in a series of actions to reverse years of what they see as excessive government regulation during Obama's presidency. … Republicans voted to repeal the Obama-era rules using the Congressional Review Act, an obscure oversight tool that could become more familiar in the coming weeks as Congress uses it to overturn regulations federal agencies issued late in Obama's presidency.” (TIME, 2/1/17)
Rule Could Have Cost American Businesses Up To $590 Million Annually
SEC:“Quantitative Estimates of Compliance Costs … Annual ongoing compliance costs… Total costs: Lower bound - $94,528,370; Average: $267,061,300; Upper bound: $590,699,900.”(Security And Exchange Commission, “17 CFR Parts 240 and 249b,” Pg.192) Tags:Republicans, Are Moving Quickly, Dismantle, Obama-Era RegulationsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Kerby Anderson, Contributing Author: Events over the last two months illustrate how difficult it is to argue for unhindered abortion rights. Put another way, if you were in a debate competition and were given the assignment to defend abortion, you would know that you would have a more difficult time than the person who was given the assignment to defend the pro-life position.
Last month, for example there was the article in The Atlantic with the provocative title: “How Ultrasound Pushed the Idea That a Fetus is a Person.” The article generated lots of Twitter posts like: “How The X-ray Pushed the Idea That We All Have a Skeleton.” Russell Moore said: “On the phone checking in with my 5 sons. But since some of them were first revealed to us by ultrasound, I can’t vouch that they exist.” If that was not enough, the subtitle of the article originally stated that a fetal heartbeat was “imaginary.” The editors later removed that part of the article.
The Women’s March in January was a reminder that feminism today isn’t so much about male and female equality as it is about sexual autonomy. This is why we heard so much about a woman’s body. Of course, removing a developing baby is not the same as removing a gall bladder or kidney stones. Removing a cancerous tumor will never have a head, face, hands, and a beating heart.
Foundational to the pro-abortion position is a belief that no abortion at any point of the pregnancy should be prevented. So pro-choice advocates find themselves arguing against laws restricting third trimester abortions and partial birth abortion. Even Americans who support some abortion rights are usually repelled by the rhetoric of pro-choice advocates and politicians who cannot even allow laws against abortion at this late stage.
You know the pro-life movement is making progress when proponents of abortion rights have to deny science and common sense to defend their position.
-------------- Kerby Anderson is a radio talk show host heard on numerous stations via the Point of View Network endorsed by Dr. Bill Smith, Editor, ARRA News Service Tags:Abortion Debate, ultrasounds, baby, pro-life, Kerby Anderson, Viewpoints, Point of ViewTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Patrick Buchanan: When Gen. Michael Flynn was forced to resign as national security adviser, Bill Kristol purred his satisfaction, “If it comes to it, prefer the deep state to the Trump state.”
To Kristol, the permanent regime, not the elected president and his government, is the real defender and rightful repository of our liberties.
In December, when Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats, Flynn spoke to the Russian ambassador. He apparently counseled the envoy not to overreact, saying a new team would be in place in a few weeks and would review U.S.-Russian relations.
“That’s neither illegal nor improper,” writes Lake.
Vladimir Putin swiftly declared that there would be no reciprocal expulsions and U.S. diplomats and their families would be welcome at the Kremlin’s Christmas and New Year’s parties.
Diplomatic crisis averted. “Great move … (by V. Putin),” tweeted Trump, “I always knew he was very smart.”
But apparently, this did not sit well with the deep state.
For when Vice President Pence told a TV show that Flynn told him that sanctions did not come up in conversation with the Russian ambassador, a transcript of Flynn’s call was produced from recordings by intelligence agencies, and its contents leaked to The Washington Post.
After seeing the transcript, the White House concluded that Flynn had misled Pence, mutual trust was gone, and Flynn must go.
Like a good soldier, Flynn took the bullet.
The real crime here, however, is not that the incoming national security adviser spoke with a Russian diplomat seeking guidance on the future president’s thinking. The real crime is the criminal conspiracy inside the deep state to transcribe the private conversation of a U.S. citizen and leak it to press collaborators to destroy a political career.
“This is what police states do,” writes Lake.
But the deep state is after larger game than General Flynn. It is out to bring down President Trump and abort any move to effect the sort of rapprochement with Russia that Ronald Reagan achieved.
For the deep state is deeply committed to Cold War II.
Hence, suddenly, we read reports of a Russian spy ship off the Connecticut, Delaware and Virginia coasts, of Russian jets buzzing a U.S. warship in the Black Sea, and Russian violations of Reagan’s INF treaty outlawing intermediate-range missiles in Europe.
Purpose: Stampede the White House into abandoning any idea of a detente with Russia. And it appears to be working. At a White House briefing Tuesday, Sean Spicer said, “President Trump has made it very clear that he expects the Russian government to … return Crimea.”
Is the White House serious?
Putin could no more survive returning Crimea to Ukraine than Bibi Netanyahu could survive giving East Jerusalem back to Jordan.
How does the deep state go about its work? We have seen a classic example with Flynn. The intelligence and investigative arms of the regime dig up dirt, and then move it to their Fourth Estate collaborators, who enjoy First Amendment immunity to get it out.
For violating their oaths and breaking the law, bureaucratic saboteurs are hailed as “whistleblowers” while the journalists who receive the fruits of their felonies put in for Pulitzers.
Now if Russians hacked into the DNC and John Podesta’s computer during the campaign, and, more seriously, if Trump aides colluded in any such scheme, it should be investigated.
But we should not stop there. Those in the FBI, Justice Department and intelligence agencies who were complicit in a conspiracy to leak the contents of Flynn’s private conversations in order to bring down the national security adviser should be exposed and prosecuted.
An independent counsel should be appointed by the attorney general and a grand jury impaneled to investigate what Trump himself rightly calls “criminal” misconduct in the security agencies.
As for interfering in elections, how clean are our hands?
Our own CIA has a storied history of interfering in elections. In the late ’40s, we shoveled cash into France and Italy after World War II to defeat the Communists who had been part of the wartime resistance to the Nazis and Fascists.
And we succeeded. But we continued these practices after the Cold War ended. In this century, our National Endowment for Democracy, which dates to the Reagan era, has backed “color revolutions” and “regime change” in nations across what Russia regards as her “near abroad.”
NED’s continued existence appears a contradiction of Trump’s inaugural declaration: “We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone.”
The president and GOP should get out front here. Let Congress investigate Russia meddling in our election. And let a special prosecutor run down, root out, expose and indict those in the investigative and intel agencies who used their custody of America’s secrets, in collusion with press collaborators, to take down Trump appointees who are on their enemies lists.
Then put NED down.
---------------------------- Patrick Buchanan is currently a conservative columnist, political analyst, chairman of The American Cause foundation and an editor of The American Conservative. He has been a senior advisor to three Presidents, a two-time candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, and was the presidential nominee of the Reform Party in 2000. He blogs at the Patrick J. Buchanan. Tags:Patrick Buchanan, conservative, commentary, The Deep State, Targets, President TrumpTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Tags:Editorial Cartoon, AF Branco, The Main Course, President Trump, rips the pressTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
You know, the contest that still bedevils us? The one allegedly rigged by the Russians and fake news? The one the outcome of which Michael Moore (and others) suggested, even this week, should be overturned by “the courts” simply by installing Hillary Clinton as president?
Turns out one major element of the election process was rigged: the debates run by the Commission on Presidential Debates.*
At least, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has ruled** that, “In sum, with respect to Plaintiffs’ allegation that the FEC acted arbitrarily and capriciously and contrary to law when it dismissed their two administrative complaints, this court agrees. . . .”
The plaintiffs*** are Level the Playing Field (LPF), the Green Party, the Libertarian National Committee, and Dr. Peter Ackerman. They sued the Federal Election Commission because the FEC, as the judge wrote, “stuck its head in the sand and ignored the evidence.” Prior to the lawsuit, LPF and others had filed complaints and asked the FEC to establish fair rules. They were told to go play in — er, far away from — traffic.
“The FEC was the defendant in the case,” explained IVN News, “but the real villain in the story is the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a private organization . . . dominated by Democratic and Republican party stalwarts.”
Under federal law, the FEC, itself organized along bipartisan lines, is charged with ensuring that the CPD is using “objective” criteria, which doesn’t arbitrarily exclude independent and minor party candidates.
Now, thankfully, the court has ordered the FEC to come back, by April 3, with new thinking on how to ensure fair and open presidential debates.
** Tellingly, there’s been scant news coverage of the court decision except by IVN News, the Independent Voter Network website, and . . . RT, the Russian government’s TV channel.
*** The case is Level the Playing Field, et al v. Federal Election Commission.
------------------ Paul Jacobs is author of Common Sense which provides daily commentary about the issues impacting America and about the citizens who are doing something about them. He is also President of the Liberty Initiative Fund (LIFe) as well as Citizens in Charge Foundation. Jacobs is a contributing author on the ARRA News Service. Tags:Paul Jacob, Common Sense, Remember, Rigged Election?To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Lt. Colonel James G. Zumwalt: A brief exchange on leadership perceptions occurred in 1961 between President John F. Kennedy and Iraeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion as they met in New York City. Late to the meeting due to a domestic political issue, Kennedy apologized explaining, "Mr. Prime Minister, you have no idea what it's like to be president of 180 million people." Ben Gurion's purported response was, "Mr. President, you have no idea what it's like to be prime minister of 2 million prime ministers!"
Ben Gurion shared a reality of Israeli politics: All Israelis hold contrary opinions and assume the role of prime minister to press them forward. Obviously, such an approach to governance made life most difficult for the elected prime minister.
This statement is true today about the Democratic Party leadership. No leader is without a contrary opinion to that held by our elected president and, as such, committed to making his governance most difficult.
Voters not only denied Democrats the White House in the 2016 elections but also a majority in both Houses of Congress. Consequently, party leaders' actions have not only become obstructive of President Donald Trump's effective governance but destructive to our national security as well.
Such leadership goes beyond politics. It encourages violence and the chaos and anarchy emanating therefrom. So committed is it to obstructing governance, the party is incapable of grasping its own hypocrisy in doing so.
Newly elected presidents are normally afforded a sense of expediency and cooperation in granting congressional approval of Cabinet nominees. But Democrats have worked hard to disrupt the process. Nowhere was this more evident than Sen. Jeff Sessions' nomination for U.S. attorney general.
Democratic opponents endeavored to link the senator to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which he denied. The effort to derail his nomination failed, despite attempts to go back decades to sling mud.
(Interestingly, it was the Democratic Party that gave birth to the KKK.)
While choosing to attack Sessions by reading on the Senate floor a 1986 letter written about him by Coretta Scott King opposing his nomination for a federal judgeship, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., demonstrated the Democrats' hypocrisy by ignoring a 2000 CNN video in which King praised him.
Even Martin Luther King's niece criticized Warren for playing the race card during debate on Sessions' nomination.
Most hypocritical too is the gall of Democrats making unsubstantiated, decades-old allegations against Sessions while promoting today as a candidate for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairmanship Rep. Keith Ellison.
It is understandable Ellison would adhere to such hatred. After all, he is a Muslim who, as an adherent to the Quran's teachings, believes non-Muslims, just like homosexuals, are not to be tolerated.
Yet, when another DNC chairmanship candidate, Vincent Tolliver, pointed out that Ellison's Islamic faith called homosexuality a crime punishable by death, thus raising the issue of his tolerance towards gays, ironically Tolliver was expelled from the race.
Astonishingly, despite Ellison's negative baggage, he remains the leading contender for the DNC chairmanship position - an election taking place later this month. As one critic points out, the hatred Democrats have for Trump may well blind them to the hypocrisy of electing Ellison.
The Democratic Party leadership had announced after Trump made his Cabinet nominations that it would aggressively target eight of his nominees. But it now looks as if seven of the eight will be approved. So what have the Democrats' obstructionist efforts accomplished, other than to foment anger?
Feeding such anger has led to violent protests against conservatives, such as that witnessed at Berkeley University on Feb. 1. It is difficult to say what is more shocking - administrators there banning security from stopping the violence for fear it would escalate (in total disregard for the safety of victims being injured and property being damaged) or that party representatives declared their personal pride over the protests. (Police inaction to protect victims coupled with masked protestors hiding their identities have now triggered an FBI investigation.)
But such statements of support have become even more ludicrous, as evidenced by a Nevada Democratic Party field organizer who claimed "it is a violent act" to suggest protests should be peaceful! It is logic such as this, perhaps, that explains Ellison's candidacy.
Meanwhile, a Florida Democratic Party representative described the liberal Berkeley rioters beating up on police and conservatives as a "beautiful sight." This representative somehow naively equated what was happening on campus as "protesting against unconstitutional order." In actuality, it was just the opposite - hypocritically, it was protesting against "constitutional" order.
The actions of the Berkeley protesters and their supporters underscores the distinction between 20th and 21st century fascists - "in Germany, the fascists goose-stepped; in America, they jog."
Democratic Party leaders have so politically charged the air as to invite the most reprehensible of acts by activists. In Oregon, as a Christian preacher recently espoused the word of God outside a Planned Parenthood clinic, a profane young woman attacked him, shoving a bloody maxi-pad into his face.
Things have gotten so bad, lawmakers are now personally experiencing a backlash as well. Who would have thought it ever necessary to do so, but legislation is being proposed to protect people from protester violence and to force those responsible for providing security at protests to do their job.
Even Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel has become frustrated with his party's antics. He warns fellow Democrats they need to "take a chill pill," recognizing they won't be reclaiming national power soon and need to realize they are in it for the long haul. Hopefully this realization is accompanied with a recognition of their responsibility to help, not hinder, governance.
During times of great trouble in our history, great leaders have arisen to unify the nation. Sadly, we still need to await their arrival.
------------- Lt. Colonel James G. Zumwalt, USMC (Ret.), is a retired Marine infantry officer who served in the Vietnam war, the U.S. invasion of Panama and the first Gulf war. He is the author of "Bare Feet, Iron Will--Stories from the Other Side of Vietnam's Battlefields," "Living the Juche Lie: North Korea's Kim Dynasty" and "Doomsday: Iran--The Clock is Ticking." He frequently writes on foreign policy and defense issues. This article was provided by Family Security Matters Tags:James G. Zumwalt, Family Security Matters, Party of Government, obstructs, GovernanceTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Scott Erickson: If restricting local law enforcement from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests is supposed to make communities safer, as some immigration advocates and law enforcement officials suggest, I’d like to hear them reconcile their beliefs with the actions of Texas’ Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez.
Hernandez, sworn in as the newly elected head of the Travis County Sheriff’s Department last month, almost immediately adopted an anti-cooperation policy prohibiting her department from honoring nearly all ICE detainer requests.
“The public must be confident that local law enforcement is focused on local public safety, not on federal immigration enforcement,” Hernandez said.
Detainer requests are notices sent by ICE to local jurisdictions informing them of its desire to take physical custody of an individual in local custody.
The sheriff’s new policy stipulated that only four exempted crimes—murder, capital murder, aggravated sexual assault, and human trafficking—would be grounds for her department to honor an ICE detainer.
Unfortunately for the alleged victim of Hugo Javier Gallardo-Gonzalez and the community at large, accusations of repeatedly sexually abusing a child did not meet the criminal standard for ICE cooperation set by the sheriff.
Gallardo-Gonzalez was arrested this past Sunday, accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s young daughter beginning in 2014. The abuse is alleged to have continued for over a year.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement submitted a detainer request to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office in order to take custody of Gallardo-Gonzalez, but their request was denied.
Gallardo-Gonzalez subsequently made bail the next day and is now waiting to be released once outfitted with a GPS monitor.
The decision by Hernandez to deny the ICE detainer request was reckless and borders on malfeasance.
Whose well-being is served by the decision to dismiss this ICE detainer request and release into the public an individual accused of a particularly heinous crime? Is the public safer as a result? Is the community of illegal individuals safer?
The answers to those questions seem clear enough. No one, save perhaps the accused man, is better off for the decision by the sheriff to deny assistance to ICE.
But this reality doesn’t conform to the narrative repeated by many that suggest law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities hurts public safety and erodes police and community relations.
Mayor Javier Gonzales of Santa Fe, New Mexico, argued only months ago that sanctuary cities have no impact on crime, stating, “Study after study [has] shown that sanctuary cities do not lead to an increase in crime because of the presence of people that are undocumented.”
But a 2014 draft study conducted by ICE doesn’t support the mayor’s notion that sanctuary cities have no impact on crime.
The study found that during the observation time frame (January 2014 to August 2014), 8,145 individuals were released from jail after arrest due to their respective jurisdictions declining an immigration detainer request from ICE.
Of the 8,145 individuals released, 1,867 were subsequently re-arrested a total of 4,298 times and accumulated a staggering 7,491 charges.
So much for the argument that sanctuary cities have no impact on crime.
The notion that local law enforcement cooperation with ICE will somehow also destroy police and community relations—specifically relations between the police and communities of illegal immigrants—is tenuous.
No community of decent people—citizens, illegal immigrants, or otherwise—wants to live in a society beset by violence and social dysfunction. Stripping local law enforcement of the ability to merely cooperate with their federal counterparts on issues as plain as the removal of a dangerous criminal jeopardizes the safety of all law-abiding individuals.
Hernandez and her refusal to cooperate with ICE on the removal of an individual accused of sexual assault against a child demonstrates the absurdity of those devoted to a dogmatic faith in sanctuary cities. Clarity and perspective should rule the day, especially when public safety is at stake.
------------------ Scott G. Erickson, The Daily Signal is the president of Americans in Support of Law Enforcement. And writes articles for The Daily Signal Tags:Sanctuary Cities, Crime Rates, Scott G. Erickson, The Daily SignalTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by P. David Hornik: At Wednesday’s White House press conference for President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both leaders clearly had a lot on their minds—in addition to the matters at hand.
For Trump it was, of course, the Flynn imbroglio. For Netanyahu there were two things. One involves unfortunate, inane investigations to which he’s being subjected in Israel, which could lead to an indictment. One investigation concerns alleged illicit receipt of gifts—cigars and champagne; the other concerns talks he held with a newspaper publisher—which mentioned possible shady deals that were never, however, acted upon.
In addition, Netanyahu is under heavy pressure from the right wing of his coalition—to renounce the two-state solution, to build settlements. At the press conference Netanyahu, in particular, sounded flustered and awkward at times, glancing for succor at his script, speaking without his usual assurance and aplomb.
On substance the two leaders’ words, too, raised problems at times.
The Palestinian issue appears, unfortunately, to have returned to center stage. It’s unfortunate because it remains an issue no more amenable to a solution that at any time in the past.
“The United States,” Trump told the reporters, “will encourage a peace, and really a great peace deal.” He also said, “I think the Palestinians have to get rid of some of that hate they’re taught from a very young age. They have to acknowledge Israel. They have to do that.”
The problem is that the Palestinians have “had to” do those things—stop hating; acknowledge the legitimacy of a Jewish political entity—since the Palestinian issue first arose almost a century ago.
They have “had to,” but are no closer to doing so today than they were in the 1920s; meanwhile the remedy for an entire generation raised in hate—a reality that Netanyahu, in his flustered way, tried to emphasize—is no closer to being found by any of the putative wizards in the West.
Indeed, neither the president nor the prime minister mentioned Gaza—where a leader who is radical even by Hamas standards has taken the helm; as usual, it was not explained how a solution could be found when the Palestinians west of the Jordan are themselves divided into two mutually antagonistic entities. Trump and Netanyahu’s words about a “regional deal” on the Palestinian issue, involving Arab states along with Israel, likewise fail to take into account intractable Palestinian reality.
Instead, Trump engaged in vague talk of “two states” and “one state,” not explaining what a “one-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian issue would be—Israel granting citizenship to at least two million mostly intensely hostile Arabs?—while Netanyahu, desperate to avoid the term “two states,” reiterated his insistence on Israeli security control and Palestinian recognition of Israel, but mainly appeared terrified of riling his right-wing critics at home.
On a matter vastly more important than the Palestinian issue, Trump’s words—“My administration has already imposed new sanctions on Iran, and I will do more to prevent Iran from ever developing—I mean ever—a nuclear weapon”—were more encouraging to Israeli ears.
The words appeared to jibe with a report that the Trump administration is working to create a “NATO-like mutual defense pact” of moderate Arab states that would “share intelligence with Israel and the US to counter the rising threat of Iran.”
Israel’s role, according to an unnamed diplomat, “would likely be intelligence sharing, not training or boots on the ground. They’d provide intelligence and targets. That’s what the Israelis are good at.”
In other words, what sounds like a sophisticated plan—taking regional realities into account—to form a bulwark against Iranian expansionism that threatens to engulf the region in war.
It can be hoped that, in their hours-long powwow after the press conference, the U.S. president and Israeli prime minister focused much more on the Iranian issue, which is incomparably more urgent and can be resolved with determined action, than on the Palestinian issue, which is relatively minor and cannot—for now—be resolved.
If Trump, nonetheless, has delusions of grandeur on the Palestinian issue, expect Netanyahu to play along with his policy. It will be a relatively small price to pay for dealing with the Iranian menace.
--------------- P. David Hornik is a freelance writer and translator living in Beersheva and author of the book Choosing Life in Israel. His memoir, Destination Israel: Coming of Age and Finding Peace in the Middle East, is forthcoming from Liberty Island later this year. He writes for the David Horowitz Freedom Center's Front Page Mag. David Horowitz is a Contributing Author at the ARRA News Service. Tags:President Donald Trump, USA, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, common ground, P. David Hornik, FrontPage Mag,To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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